Australian Rules Football in Europe

Australian Rules Football In Europe

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs and organised junior programs. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 19 member nations.

The sport has grown from a few clubs and leagues started by expatriate Australians in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to now having established leagues in over 15 nations, with the majority of players being non-Australian.

Ireland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, France and Finland have thus far sent national teams to the Australian Football International Cup.

The two main cup competitions played between nations in Europe are the 16-a-side European Championships in Australian Football, which are played under rules requiring teams to be composed entirely of locals, and the nine-a-side Euro Cup (formerly known as the EU Cup), where expat Australians can be included in the squads under a handicap system.

Cup competitions held in the past have included the Atlantic Alliance Cup and Central European Australian Football League Championships. In addition, there are tests matches played between Great Britain and Ireland, a tri-series (European Australian Football Tri-nations Tournament) between Germany, Denmark and Sweden, and a tri-series between Croatia, Austria and the Czech Republic.